7-Up Cake

A few weeks ago I was invited to dinner by a couple that wanted to meet me to discuss a job opportunity with a dolphin research organization. I offered to bring a dessert for us. I racked my brain for something to make that was slightly impressive yet not pretentious in order to make a good impression but not look like I was trying too hard. I was positive I did not want to make a new recipe to minimize risk of disaster. So after flipping through my recipe book a couple times I decided to make a recipe I had never made before. I guess I am just a risk taker.

The recipe I chose was called a 7-Up Cake, something I was not familiar with but apparently is a traditional Southern cake. I was concerned to read that there was no leavening in the cake. I was doubtful of the outcome but I pressed on and hoped for the best because Plan B was to pick up a cake from Publix on the way to dinner the next day, or in my words, FAILURE.

The cake starts out as most cakes do, creaming butter and a crap-ton of sugar together. (I believe "crap-ton" is the technical term in this situation). Since there is no leavening make sure the butter and sugar are creamed very well and is light and fluffy, incorporate as much air as possible. After that I incorporated all the dry ingredients together and added them to the egg mixture, alternating with the 7-Up. I folded in some lemon and lime zest at the end. The batter was really thick and surprisingly fluffy.

I filled up 6 mini Bundt pans and put the rest of the batter in a regular sized Bundt. It baked up nicely and got lovely color. I ate half of one just to make sure they weren't poisonous and was surprised by the texture. It turned out with a texture like pound cake, dense but incredibly soft and melt in your mouth. The crumb was just about perfect. The citrus flavor was not as pronounced as I would have liked but I added a glaze made with powdered sugar and lemon/lime zest and juice. The glaze was tart and sweet and made it perfect.

I brought them to the dinner and everyone loved them! The husband insisted on making coffee to go with them, which was a great idea the coffee offset the sweetness of the cake. Everyone had their own mini cake and it went quite well. The whole dinner went well, by the way, but I decided not to pursue the opportunity.

So next time you need a tasty, non pretentious cake that is a real crowd pleaser you should try this cake.

7-UP CAKE
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

3 sticks butter

3 cups sugar

5 eggs

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup 7-Up

1 Tblsp lemon zest

1 Tblsp lime zest

GLAZE

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tblsp lemon zest

1 Tblsp lime zest

1 Tblsp each, lemon juice and lime juice


To make the cake preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream together softened butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Combine flour and salt. Add 1 cup at a time, alternating with additions of 7-Up until both are used up and the cake batter is combined. Add the zest and mix. Pour into a greased bundt pan (or mini bundt pans) and even out the surface. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. Let it sit in the pan for 15 minutes then turn out onto plate and let cool completely.

Combine all the glaze ingredients in a bowl and gently whisk until thick but pourable if it's too thick you can add water to thin it. Pour over cake, let glaze set and serve.

Note: I froze the leftover bundt cake by wrapping it in 2 layers of plastic wrap and then some tin foil. It froze beautifully and was enjoyed by my friends a couple weeks later. The texture was still perfect!